1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to the field of computers, and in particular to computers being tested. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for emulating a guard-band test chamber environment in a stand-alone computer, thus eliminating the need for the guard-band test chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer systems are traditionally bench tested by a manufacturer before being shipped to a customer. This bench testing, which may be performed on every computer or just on randomly selected units, is often done in a test chamber known as a sealed guard-band chamber. The guard-band chamber, when sealed, controls ambient temperature and humidity, as well as the voltage level of the main supply power source to the computer under test. As its name implies, the guard-band chamber is able to adjust a guard-band, which is defined as adjustable parameters made to a Device Under Test (DUT) test specification, such as the ambient temperature and humidity as well as DUT supply voltage levels.
During testing, one or more computers are physically placed inside the guard-band chamber. The computer is then tested, typically for 24 hours, using a “burn in” test program that may be modified by the guard-band parameters. Output values from the burn in test program are recorded, and the computer either passes or fails some or all of the burn-in test program.
In a high volume manufacturing environment, it is not feasible to use a sealed guard-band chamber to test more than a very small percentage of manufactured computers, due to time and space constraints. What is needed, therefore, is a method for testing a computer, either at the manufacturer's facility or at the customer's site, under conditions similar to those created by a sealed guard-band chamber.